This disclosure relates to a dispenser for sheet products such as wipers, napkins, facial tissues, towels, and the like. More specifically, the disclosure relates to carton-type dispensers for sheet products.
Carton-type dispensers for sheet products such as wipers and tissues are well known in the art. Such sheet products may be supplied dry, with lotion, or moistened. The sheet products are generally rectangular in shape and are supplied as, for example, interleaved, discrete sheets or separably connected. Dispensers for such sheet products typically are in a carton form (e.g., a box form) and have an opening, typically at the top, through which individual articles or sheets are removed by the user. The desire for increased convenience led to sequential or “pop-up” dispensers. In a pop-up dispenser, a sheet product usually extends through an opening to an elevation above that of the dispenser. The user grasps the exposed portion of the sheet product, without the necessity of inserting fingers through the opening. In pop-up dispensing, each sheet product has a leading portion that is first to pass through the opening, and a trailing portion that later passes through the opening. In an interleaved arrangement, the trailing portion of a first sheet product to be dispensed overlaps the leading portion of the next sheet product to be dispensed. As the first sheet product is withdrawn by the user, the leading portion of the next sheet product is pulled through the opening for later dispensing. The sheet products are folded against one another in a variety of configurations so that the friction of the trailing portion of the withdrawn sheet against the succeeding sheet pulls the leading portion of the succeeding sheet through the opening.
One problem frequently encountered in pop-up dispensers is the transition from the reach-in dispensing mode in which the product is shipped to the pop-up dispensing mode preferred by the user, as well as recovery from the dispenser of sheet products that have fallen back in order to reinitiate the pop-up sequence. Typically, the opening through which the sheet product is dispensed is sized large enough to allow the user to reach his or her fingers therethrough to grasp the sheet product and begin the pop-up dispensing process. However, the opening is also typically sized to be small enough to constrict the sheet products dispensed therethrough, so that a sheet product may be separated from succeeding sheet products. Fallback is exacerbated with relatively tall dispensers that are often preferred by the user for economic reasons. The usable height of the dispenser is often limited to the length of the overlap of the interfolded sheet product. This limitation occurs due to the leading and trailing portions of adjacent sheet products unfolding inside a package taller than the overlap, resulting in the second sheet product falling back into the dispenser. Furthermore, fallback can occur as a consequence of the sheet product being impregnated with another substance, such as moisture, lotion, cleansing composition, and the like. When the sheet product is impregnated it is heavier and its surface friction may be reduced, therefore making it more susceptible to falling back.
A common problem among carton-type dispensers involves the issue of “double pull.” This occurs when more than one sheet product comes out when the leading sheet product is withdrawn. Additionally, the problem of “streaming” can occur in carton-type dispensers. Streaming occurs when the user pulls the first sheet product out, and subsequent sheet products are also withdrawn, with separation of the following ones sometimes occurring.
All of these situations are defined as quality defects, and they are considered to be major inconveniences to the user. A continual need exists in the art for dispensers that eliminate these problems and improve the performance of dispensers, especially carton-type dispensers.